The island is large enough to have a good zone of safety around the cooking zone, but not large enough to serve as the prep zone. Your prep zone in this layout will be the corner between your fridge and DW. And that would be fine for many people. If you want to prep and socialize with visitors at the same time, then this isn't a layout that will work for that and you'd need to move the cooking zone off of the island and put a sink there so that you'd prep facing out into the room. Whatever you decide, I'd make the entry to the pantry in the hall adjacent so that you could extend the cabinets down all the way to that hall and move the fridge down further to make access easier from the great room. That will also give you a good place for a MW next to the fridge. I'd personally also prefer a peninsula for some separation between the kitchen and dining room while still remaining open for the connection. I'd also prefer the cooking zone to be off of the island so that it would b easier and cheaper (and more effectively) vented to the exterior straight through the wall. Flank it with some windows to make it a focal point from the great room.

They're bigger, but still not legible - at least the top one is illegible. Rotag - can you zoom your PDF to fit your monitor screen and then take a screen shot? Then, save the screenshot as a JPG file and post it here? Can you also post specific measurements rather than general? I.e., the width of each window/wall/door/doorway and the distances b/w each window/wall/door/doorway. You do say windows/doors can be moved - any/all of them? I can already tell that most likely your overhang is too shallow - you have plenty of space, so increase the island to 41.5" deep. I also think you need to move the DW & sink over to have more landing space to the right of the sink - you risk splashing water all over the floor as well as knocking things off the counter (like glass!) You could move the DW as far as you can to the left into the corner and then have a 27" cabinet turned 90 degrees on the other side (facing the seats) rather than deadening out the space. It could house seldom-used items or items for the living/dining area.

Resurrecting this thread with the 2 current floor plan possibilities. Until these I was absolutely POSITIVE the kitchen was returning the front of the house and thus much larger. I'm getting older and really don't think I will need a huge kitchen, besides we'll be much closer to decent restaurants. The MBR had become 23 feet wide because DH wanted a place to disappear. (It's a better size now.) It finally occurred to me to think hard about how we live and I decided what we really needed was a separate living room that could be closed off from the rest of the space. It is now the TV room with surround sound. The other living room will have the stereo and a small TV. It's still an open plan just not as open as it could be. Just because wide open is possible doesn't mean it's a good idea. My custom 7 foot cherry dining table (built so DH can get his knees under the skirt board rather than butted up into it) has been a bit of a problem to work around. I don't really need a formal dining room as we only use the table for major holidays. But then it's nice to have when I do need it. First planThe dining table just sort of sits there, floating sort of. I don't like the way the kitchen/TV room wall does not line up with the MBR/2nd living room wall, hence plan version number 2. Second Plan I like "neatness" of the walls though the MBR closet is smaller (I also widened the MBA aisle a little though technically 3'8" would be better for wheelchair access) This version has a vestibule-like area at the front door (hey, Mark!), which I kind of like. The dining room looks a little cramped but when I look at the 3D views I think it looks great. I dislike my exercise bike having to go into the garage and losing a linen closet, but, oh well. I am debating losing the soaker tub. which would free up some space to play with. Now a few reminders : The post frame and trusses are up so this is the final shape of the house. All interior walls are still moveable but those red posts within walls must remain where they are ( 12 feet apart) They cannot be cut and have headers installed, etc in order to move windows. The number of windows and is what I have to deal with without spending more money to have the engineer at the pole barn company re-engineer everything. The windows are mostly 4 feet wide by 5.5 feet tall though. They also have to remain within their respective 12 spaces unless we pay that engineer again. CP, I did manage to get DH to shift the house a few degrees so the back of the house is a little bit more toward the south but for the most part it's still has the front of the house facing northwest into the winter wind (thank goodness we planted a windbreak 20 years ago) and the back facing southeast. It is not the worst configuration up here. The furniture placement on the plan for the 2 living rooms is done with lots of chairs, most of which we do not own, and the sofa which we do own may be tossed. Just making sure stuff fits. Okay, rip it apart while I go try a plan with a master bath without a tub....

I don't like the covered living where stock plan originally had it. The original plan places it in an ideal space: just off the great room and the master. I wouldn't change it. Changing the topic a bit: The "covered living" is practical in its original position because it'll simplify the roof /cost less. Should I bump the "nook" area out in order to give it a little dimension? We plan to put a round table that can accommodate 4-5 for casual eating. I don't see why that's a "nook". It isn't nook-ish in any way. No, I think you have space for something like a 42" (3 1/2') round table, which is what I have, and it's perfect for a family of four ... round is practical because it allows for good circulation, and with this much space /a table that size, you'll be able to reach the door comfortably. Completely different note: Inswing doors are more practical, especially if the area into which an outswing would open is not covered. Jack and jill bath upstairs seems a little congested to me. Would you change this? Definitely change the two upstairs secondary bathrooms. Both of them have the same problem: By dividing the bathroom /setting the sinks into their own little rooms, you won't be able to close the door once you're in the "back half" of the bathroom. Dividing bathrooms isn't a great idea, and it really doesn't work in small bathrooms. Simplify /go with a plain 3-piece bath in each spot. The DR makes no sense where it is a walk in pantry 6 miles away from the actual kitchen so many things wrong . Agreed. The pantry is also pretty far from the garage entrance. "Flipping" the garage will result int he entire exterior being redesigned. I vote yes to a redesign. I find the exterior overly busy and complicated for the sake of complicated. Too many jigs and jogs, too many bump-outs. Choosing a stock plan that mainly works for my family and having the architect make some changes will cost be 1/3 of what it would cost to have them design from scratch. I'm not as quick to jump on the "get thee to an architect!" bandwagon as most people here ... but you're making too many changes to this plan. I read somewhere that if you're making more than 10 changes, you're changing too much. Of course, this is a silly guideline because some changes (for example, you say you want a make-up area between two sinks -- that's just a matter of cabinetry) are not big changes at all ... whereas other changes alter their surroundings significantly (such as moving the covered patio, which alters the roofline and foundation). I think you've passed the point of reasonable changes with this plan -- that is, you aren't starting with something that "mainly works for your family" -- you'd be better off to choose something that "starts closer" to your idea. Other thoughts: - I don't love the kitchen. You can have too many cabinets; I'd give up a bunch of them /allow for larger aisles /a larger and better located pantry. It could be a whole lot more functional. - Consider furniture placement in the great room ... you have something on every wall, so furniture will have to "float", and your actual furniture space will be pretty small. Where's the TV? - You're talking about a guest bedroom that won't be used often ... why not lop off the bedroom entirely ... and make the den do double duty? You already have a half-bath there ... make it a full bath ... put a sleeper sofa or Murphy bed here, and you'll have a functional room. - How will the dryer vent from its interior upstairs location?